Council to end floodgate maintenance

A council has said it will no longer maintain the floodgates on a road between two villages.

The stretch of road between Muchelney and Huish Episcopi, near Langport in Somerset, is still closed following January's heavy rainfall.

Locals say they are "frustrated" due to the time the road is taking to be cleared, and the gates at Huish Episcopi have been vandalised.

Somerset Council leader Bill Revans said it would have to set up "some form of security system" to maintain the gates, which means it is "no longer viable" to look after them.

Muchelney Parish Chairman Andrew Flower said the situation needs to be addressed and reviewed.

He says the vandalism has happened twice at the Huish Episcopi flood gates because people are frustrated at the length of time the water is taking to recede.

Mr Flower says the slow process of pumping seems to "take much longer than it used to" but says the Environment Agency has helped by installing two pumps in the village.

He added: "The Huish Episcopi pumping station is said to already be operating at full capacity due to the vast area of water that has to be removed from the levels."

Somerset Council told BBC Radio Somerset that the emergency flood closure gates at this location are "clearly not a viable option going forward" as they are not respected and are "continually vandalised".

It added: "This vandalism creates more risk of drivers being uncertain about whether the road is closed.

"For now, we have reverted to our usual approach to dealing with flooded roads and are signing the road closure when the road becomes flooded."

The council added that floodgates at other locations are not being targeted in the same way and will continue to be deployed when roads flood.

The authority also said it is reviewing options for the Muchelney to Langport road ahead of next winter and will be "discussing this with the local community".

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